Cherry and Cathleen were soon walking off back to their respective jobs.
"So, I'll get off around 5:00 and you should too," Cherry said to Cathleen. "I guess we'll meet up at Granny's and get some dinner together once we punch out."
"You think we should stick together?" Cathleen guessed.
"Yes, I do," Cherry nodded. "Especially since you don't know much about Storybrooke like I do."
"Who's gonna look after Hard Luck then?" Cathleen then asked.
"I think maybe you should," Cherry suggested. "Both of you stay out of trouble."
"I never get in trouble, Miss Cherry," Hard Luck smiled innocently. "You try to relax and get some rest. You look cranky like you need a nap."
Cathleen chuckled a bit to that.
"Oh, ha, ha, ha," Cherry rolled her eyes. "So, yeah, we'll meet up at the diner after we finish work. We'll text though when we get back to the Bed & Breakfast or Gold's mansion."
"Deal." Cathleen nodded.
"We'll be there." Hard Luck smiled.
"Right then," Cherry replied as she walked off. "I'll see you there then."
And with that, Cherry, Cathleen, and Hard Luck split up until their next meeting point. Cathleen soon tied her apron on and went to get to work as she had Hard Luck close to her so that he wouldn't get hurt or lost while Ruby was trying to teach Bubbles and Buttercup what to do since they were in a Work Study program for school. The intern who was supposed to come was soon shown as Cathleen gasped at the sight of him.
"Good to see you promised to get to work like you promised, Mr. Salazaar." Granny said to the teenage boy.
"Yeah, no problem, Mrs. Lucas," Rex reassured. "It's my pleasure, really."
"Get to work then," Granny nodded. "Ruby, Bubbles, Buttercup, and Cathleen are already at their posts."
"Yes, ma'am," Rex replied as he went to go and wash his hands. "I look forward to this internship."
"I sure hope so." Granny said as she went to where she needed to go.
Cathleen was hiding around sheepishly before she peeked her head out towards Rex from where she was hidden. Rex flinched slightly before looking around and behind him as Cathleen further hid herself. He then shrugged and went to his job for the day.
"Cathleen, get out from behind there," Bubbles told the young werewolf as she walked over. "Mrs. Granny will be mad if you're not doing your job."
"Sorry, Bubbles," Cathleen said as she soon came out of hiding since Rex was out of sight right now. "I guess I just dropped something."
"I sure hope that it wasn't that duckling friend of yours," Bubbles giggled. "He's adorable~"
Then Cathleen had an idea. "So... You haven't met Hard Luck, have you?" she then asked the former Powerpuff Girl.
"Nope, I haven't, but he's a lot nicer than that pink rat who keeps hissing at me, trying to bite me," Bubbles replied. "He's a big fat meany pants~"
"Oh, he just takes some getting used to," Cathleen said as she walked off. "I'll be back in a second, I think you should meet Hard Luck up close."
"Oh, sure, but maybe during our break?" Bubbles suggested.
"No! You need to see Hard Luck right now!" Cathleen urged.
Bubbles blinked, confused and a bit startled.
"I-I mean... You'll like him a lot," Cathleen insisted. "You should really become friends."
"I really shouldn't right now, Cathleen," Bubbles replied. "Mrs. Granny doesn't like it when Ruby flirts with customers or when I play with cute and fuzzy 'aminals'."
"No, seriously, you go talk to Hard Luck and I'll take care of Granny," Cathleen urged. "Trust me, it might be good for you."
"I'm sorry, Cathleen, but not right now." Bubbles shook her head.
"Hey! Can I get some service over here?" A voice called out.
"Look, why don't you check on Table 10 for me?" Bubbles suggested, giving Cathleen a notepad and a pencil. "We have a lot of work to do."
"But Bubbles-!" Cathleen called out before sighing. "Oh, well... Maybe later. It's not like there's a deadline or anything."
"You say somethin', Cath?" Buttercup asked as she came in, carrying a bunch of dishes in her arms.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing, Buttercup," Cathleen replied. "I'm just thinking to myself."
"Well, you better get your work done," Buttercup suggested. "Mrs. Lucas doesn't like dilly-dallying in her diner."
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that before," Cathleen shrugged as she soon went to go over to Table 10 to see someone waiting for their order to be taken. "Uh, welcome to Granny's Diner. May I take your order? I don't recommend the meatloaf."
"That's an interesting sentiment," The customer said, holding up the menu before lowering it with a smirk, showing to be Erin. "I think I'll have grilled cheese today actually with some cola."
"Sure, that sounds-" Cathleen nodded before doing a double-take. "Wait... I know you..."
"You do?" Erin replied.
"Yeah," Cathleen said. "You're that girl Erin from when Cartoon Network did that after-school Miguzi block to show shows like Totally Spies, Teen Titans, and Mucha Lucha. You were friends with those monsters."
"Heh... Well, you're right about that," Erin smirked and nodded. "I mean, I would think so. I thought this place was called Storybrooke City."
"Erin, you have no idea..." Cathleen remarked to herself.
"So, uh, could I get some food?" Erin asked. "I'm rather hungry and you're a waitress and all."
"Oh! Right..." Cathleen nodded before hitting herself in the forehead and took out a notepad, remembering to do her job in order to appease Granny and Ruby. "Erm... What would you like?"
"Hmm... I think I'll have that fish special if it's not too much trouble," Erin decided as she glanced at her menu. "A side of fries and a diet cola too."
"All right, sounds good," Cathleen nodded as she jotted down the order. "I just can't believe you're actually here, Erin. You're one of Cartoon Network's mascots. What's next? I'm gonna meet TOM or Super Chunk?"
"I don't know those guys, but I guess you never know in a place like this." Erin shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess that's true," Cathleen nodded before she went to the back to give Floyd the order. "The fish special with some fries and a diet cola for Table 4."
Floyd nodded and soon began to cook that order once he was given it.
"I can't believe it... Erin's here..." Cathleen said to herself.
"If I were you, I'd focus less on getting starstruck and more on doing your job before Granny throws you out on the streets." Rex smirked as he walked over.
Cathleen looked over before gasping and blushing. "Yes, of course," she then nodded bashfully. "So... Uh... You come here often?"
"Some of the times," Rex smirked at her. "Sometimes it feels like I went to bed at home where I knew everybody, then I woke up in a strange new place with different people. You know what I mean?" he then asked.
"Uh... I'm not sure," Cathleen shrugged as she rubbed her arm. "I mean, I never thought much about Cartoon Network and the memories I had from over 20 years ago until after that creepy guy showed up with those kids after my birthday."
"Well, first of all, Happy belated Birthday, and secondly, you seem like an adventurous young lady," Rex remarked. "I feel like I've known someone like you in a past life."
"Yeah... You could say that..." Cathleen nodded bashfully as Ruby walked by with another order before she smirked at watching Rex and Cathleen interact as it was clear that there was something between the two.
Granny shook her head though as she had the same feeling and just hoped that it wouldn't interfere with Cathleen's work and promise to work in the diner until further notice. Hard Luck even popped out of Cathleen's pocket and chuckled from where he hid as he looked between the two as they bonded like they used to, once upon a long time ago.
Cherry was soon visiting with the one known as David Nolan at the Storybrooke Pet Shelter.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Thatcher." David greeted the veterinarian as he walked inside with Cherry.
The veterinarian nodded his head as he looked over some files.
"You sure Gold doesn't mind you hanging around me?" David asked Cherry. "He doesn't seem to like me very much."
"That's just cuz he's smarter than you are, especially being Henry's cooler grandfather," Cherry teased. "Also, he won't mind. I'm just trying to clear my head about this whole mission thing. I'm stumped on what to do with Cathleen."
"Well, maybe some animals can cheer you up with their bright and shiny faces," David suggested. "You like cats, right?"
"Yeah, they're more relatable," Cherry nodded before facing Dr. Thatcher. "Excuse me? Can I go in the back to see the animals there?"
"Sure you can, maybe you can help cheer them up, especially this one puppy with his doggy daddy." Dr. Thatcher.
"Doggie Daddy..." Cherry repeated as that seemed to spark to her somehow. "Hmm... I wonder..."
"Go on in," Dr. Thatcher allowed. "No one needs surgery luckily."
"Thanks, Dr. Thatcher." Cherry and David replied.
David soon took out the key and unlocked the backdoor and he went inside with Cherry to meet the animals inside. Cherry met very familiar faces of the dogs and cats, including two stupid-looking dogs that looked like a big sheepdog and a little wiener dog, a pink cowardly dog, a group of colorful cats led by a yellow cat, a very tall and long gray dog with a green collar who nearly looked a lot like Scooby-Doo, and many, many more. Cherry recognized and knew most of them, but tried not to say anything too overwhelming or strange. One pair that stood out to her the most had two orange dogs, one adult and one puppy, who seemed to be father and son.
"David, do you mind if I had some one-on-one time with one of the animals?" Cherry asked the blonde man. "I think I need to... Talk."
"Uh... Okay," David nodded. "Just remember to wash your hands before and after. I gotta get some of these guys some lunch."
Cherry nodded in return.
"So, who do you wanna talk to?" David asked, coming beside her. "Maybe those cats?"
"Actually, I think I'll talk to that puppy." Cherry said as she pointed out the orange puppy who was with the adult orange dog.
"All right," David replied as he pushed down on the door to open up the cage to let the orange puppy out as Cherry used hand sanitizer before holding the puppy carefully and gently. "Remember to be careful and I'll be right here if you need anything."
"Thanks, David." Cherry nodded before she walked off with the puppy to sit and talk with him, letting him rest on the fluffy bed that had a toy bone, ball of yarn, a stuffed mouse, a rubber ball, and a couple of saucers filled with pet food and water.
The orange puppy shivered as he looked up at Cherry, looking a bit scared and nervous. David smiled and waved in a friendly way before leaving Cherry and the puppy alone.
"All right," Cherry said to the puppy, putting her hands together. "Where'd you come from? What's your name? Who's your daddy?"
The puppy blinked and looked up at her, being silent.
"It's okay, you can talk in front of me, I'm cool like that," Cherry said to him. "Plus if my hunch is right about you is correct, you have to talk, okay?"
The puppy looked at her before shrugging and nodding.
"You're Augie Doggie, aren't you?" Cherry then asked. "And that was your Doggie Daddy in your cage with you?"
The puppy looked wide-eyed.
"Well? What is it?" Cherry asked. "Yes or no?"
"...Y-Y-Yes," The puppy soon spoke, revealing himself to be the one and only Augie Doggie. "Yes, you're right."
"Awesome! Score 1 for me," Cherry smirked, giving herself a high-five. "So, you doing okay?" she then asked calmly and carefully. "You look very shook up."
"Oh, I am..." Augie nodded. "E-E-Especially with bein' away from my daddy~"
"Well, don't worry, I won't take up too much of your time," Cherry said to him. "Maybe you can help me out with what's going on around here. I don't know how to tell you this, but you and everyone else around here is from a station called Cartoon Network and you had all of your memories taken away."
"I remember..." Augie nodded.
"You do?" Cherry asked with wide eyes.
"Yes," Augie explained. "An animal's memory never changes, especially to that of an elephant."
"So you and the other animals remember and know who you are?" Cherry asked.
"Y-Y-Yes, we do," Augie nodded. "N-N-No one l-l-listens to animals though... I-I-It's like n-n-no one u-understands us. W-W-O-O-One of us told this one spotted d-d-dog w-w-when we had the ch-ch-chance... H-He tried to tell s-s-someone else... B-But no one would listen to him."
"You told a spotted dog, huh?" Cherry asked before thinking about it and remembered seeing one consistent dog throughout Storybrooke from when she used to visit and had her adventures in this town before it was transformed. "Pongo... That's Archie's dog. Huh... You'd think being a former cricket that he'd be perceptive about what his dog wants to say or something."
"N-N-No one is like you..." Augie said. "T-T-They say h-humans can't speak with a-a-animals."'
"Let's just say I'm a special kind of person," Cherry replied. "Now, which one of you tried to tell Pongo and Dr. Hopper about what's going on?"
"M-M-My uncle..." Augie replied. "H-H-He's not here a-a-anymore... I-I-I guess he g-g-gave up or g-g-got c-c-caught."
"Your uncle?" Cherry asked before pausing. "I don't remember you having an uncle on your show."
"I-I-It's a lo-lo-long s-s-story," Augie said. "B-B-But he w-w-was with us o-o-one n-night and he was able to escape, b-b-but w-w-we haven't s-s-seen Uncle M-Moxy since."
"Oh, my... I'm sorry to hear that..." Cherry frowned softly. "That must be so rough."
"I-It was," Augie nodded. "I-I-I miss him v-very much... Th-Th-That's all any of u-us can t-tell you though."
"Hmm... Very interesting... Thank you for telling me, Augie," Cherry replied. "Do you wanna go back to your dad now?"
"Y-Yes, pl-pl-please..." Augie said hopefully. "N-N-No offense, b-b-but I trust my d-d-daddy more and f-f-feel more c-c-comfortable ar-ar-around you."
"I understand," Cherry nodded before she scooped him up gently and carefully. "David? I'm done!" she then called out.
David looked over and soon took Augie away from her, allowing her to use more hand sanitzer. "Did you guys have a good talk?" he asked with a small smile.
"Yeah, we did," Cherry nodded before putting her hands in her pockets. "Thanks for letting me talk to him."
"Of course," David smiled. "I just hope you found out something interesting."
"Indeed... About Uncle Moxy and-" Cherry replied before pausing thoughtfully. "Wait... Moxy? ...No one's seen or heard about that guy since 1993... I wonder if... If he's corrupted from years of being forgotten about and he's trying to plan revenge on the newer Cartoon Network?" she then mumbled slightly.
"You say something, Cherry?" David then asked.
"Oh, uh, nothing," Cherry grinned bashfully before she took out her notebook and quickly wrote that idea down to talk it over with Cathleen later. "I have to talk to Cathleen when we get off work today."
"Well, all right," David replied. "I hope you had a good visit today."
"I did, thanks again, David," Cherry said. "It really helped clear my head."
David smiled at her. Cherry smiled back before she decided to get going, then sent a text to Cathleen about meeting up later with some new information.
After a while of hard work, Cathleen was free to go, and was soon punching out.
"It was really nice bonding with you, Cathleen," Rex said as she was about to leave. "Will you come back for dinner?"
"Uh, maybe," Cathleen shrugged. "I see this food all the time and while it is good, I can see why Ruby would eat somewhere else sometimes. Seems like she was born in this kitchen."
"I know what you mean," Rex chuckled. "Well, I hope you do come back. Especially during our talk over your break with Buttercup and Bubbles."
Cathleen smiled before feeling her phone and took it out to see a new text message.
"What is it?" Rex asked.
"It's Cherry," Cathleen replied. "She wants to meet up at the inn to have a quick talk."
"Well, all right, I won't keep you," Rex nodded. "I'll see you later then?"
"See you later," Cathleen smiled before she left the diner after a long and tough day of work. "Bye, Rex."
"Goodbye." Rex smiled back and nodded.
A/N: Sorry if this chapter was kinda short, but I wanted to get this idea out as soon as it was fresh on my mind and just to let you know I haven't abandoned this story... At least, not yet.